The Badminton Herald

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This a direct lift up from the well researched story of Korrine Vinarao's " Milestone in Philippine Badminton". I'm publishing it here for the purpose of those who haven't read the article yet)

Badminton was not born yesterday in this country. Perhaps for many of our veteran badminton players, the recent boom in the sport has been long awaited. As early as the 1950s, the International Badminton Federation (IBF) already recognized the Philippines as its 21st member country. Since then, Filipinos have been swinging their rackets in international tournaments. Let's take a trip down memory lane, and take a look at the milestones in Philippine badminton.

It was in the 1920s when British and American expatriates introduced badminton in the Philippines.The 1949 national rankings produced Mr. Adriano Torres-the first national Men's singles champion. It was in 1950 when the Philippines became the 21st country to join the International Badminton Federation (IBF). In 1952, the Philippine Badminton Association (PBA) became the first national badminton group. It was organized by 28 badminton clubs. In 1962, Johnny Yan and Stephen Cheng were the country's first doubles champions at the Hong Kong Open. In the 1966 Triangular Meet in Vietnam, the Philippine team achieved its first team championship in the Men's division (Armando Yanga, Conrado Co, Jaime Gapas, Renato Navarro, and Danny So). Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines participated in this tournament. It was in 1979 when the Philippine team first joined the World Badminton Championships at Hang Chou, China. Out of 66 participants, Errol Chan landed in round 16 in the men's singles event.
In the 1981, the Philippine badminton team participated in the Southeast ASEAN (SEA) Games for the first time. The country hosted the event. In 1983, the Philippine team had its first taste of international training exposure in Fu Chow, China for a period of one month. In 1984, the Philippines made its first appearance in the Thomas Cup tournament.
In 1992, Melvin Llanes became the first Philippine champion at the Prince Asian Juniors Championship for the 16-under age group. It was in 1992 when the Philippines first played in the Uber Cup games, resulting in a victory over Tanzania. This was duplicated in 1998 when the Philippine ladies' team defeated Mauritius 3-2 at the Uber Cup Asian Zonal Championships. In the 1995 Australian International Championships (IBF-sanctioned international tournament), Weena Lim and Kennie Asuncion were the first Philippine entry (ladies doubles) to win a gold medal. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Weena Lim became the first Philippine badminton player to qualify for and participate in the prestigious games.
In 1996, Manolito Saldivar of Siliman became the first Filipino umpire accredited by the Asian Badminton Confederation (ABC). In 1997, Ben Domingo, Jr. became the first Filipino IBF-accredited referee. In the 1997 three-star Vietnam Open (IBF star event), Weena Lim and Kennie Asuncion were the first Philippine entry (women's doubles) to reach quarterfinals. In the 1997 Jakarta SEA Games, Weena Lim and Kennie Asuncion were the first Philippine bronze medalists in the women's doubles event individual event. In the 1997 Jakarta SEA Games, the Philippine badminton delegation won its first team victory over an original ASEAN country. Philippines upsets Singapore, 3-2, in the men's team event. In the 1997 Jakarta SEA Games, the Philippine men's team clinched second runner-up in the men's team event. Team members were: Melvin Llanes, Jaime Llanes, Arolas Amahit, Ian Piencenaves, Kennevic Asuncion, Rhamir Antonio, Anthony Abe and Naresh Ramnani. In 1998, the Philippines hosted the Asian Preliminaries of the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup with 19 countries and 15 countries participating, respectively. In the 1998 Thomas Cup Asian Zonal Championships, the Philippine men's team achieved the first Thomas Cup victory by defeating Iran 5-0.
In the 2001 Bangkok Open, Kennevic Asuncion became the first bronze medallist in the men's singles and mixed doubles individual event with sister Kennie. In 2002, Kennevic Asuncion was the first Philippine badminton silver medalist in the 11th Asian University Games for the men's singles individual event held at the Ateneo de Manila.In the 2002 Canada Open in Vancouver, British Columbia, Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion were the first Philippine badminton bronze medallists in the men's singles and mixed doubles individual events. In the 2002 US Open in Orange County, California, Kennie Asuncion and Weena Lim took the first bronze medal for the Philippines in the women's doubles individual event. In the 2003 13th World Championships in Birmingham, Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion were the first Philippine team members to qualify and participate in both men's singles and mixed doubles individual events.

Korrine Vinarao
Milestones in Philippine badminton
Friday, December 09, 2005